For the three months ended Dec. 31, the Chinese tech giant's revenue jumped 8 percent year-over-year to 280.1 billion renminbi, or $38.3 billion, beating analyst expectations.

Chief executive Eddie Wu said AI was "the kind of opportunity for industry transformation that only comes around only once every few decades."

Alibaba's shares surged as much as 13% in Hong Kong on Friday , after it reported third-quarter revenues just above analysts' estimates and said it plans to invest more in e-commerce and AI. Julian Satterthwaite reports. What issues are fuelling the German election?